Programmatic Advertising KPIs: Measure Real Campaign Success

Programmatic advertising KPIs help measure the ad campaign’s performance. It offers data-driven insights to optimize your campaigns, make quick adjustments, and avoid wasteful ad spend.

But which metrics should you track when launching a programmatic ad campaign? Is it impressions, click-through-rates, or viewability? 

While these KPIs offer a glimpse into campaign activity, they often miss the bigger picture. 

Today’s savvy advertisers need more than surface-level vanity metrics. They want KPIs that reveal exactly which ad dollars led to their biggest wins. 

And rightfully so, because global programmatic ad spend reached an estimated $ 595 billion in 2024, and is set to approach $ 800 billion by 2028. 

The market is massive, and without analyzing the right metrics, advertisers would be throwing darts in the dark, hoping to magically hit their ROI targets. 

This article breaks down programmatic advertising metrics that go beyond clicks. We highlight how to measure real campaign results with CPM, ROAS (over time), user engagement (retention and LTV), and incrementality testing to prove true revenue impact. 

Let’s dive in! 

What is Programmatic Advertising? 

Programmatic advertising refers to using advertising technology to buy and sell digital ads. It uses automation, data insights, and algorithms to rapidly serve relevant ad impressions to audiences, often in less than a second. 

How Does Programmatic Advertising Work?

In simple terms, programmatic ads automatically connect advertisers (who want to show ads) with publishers (who have space to show them). Let’s break it down with each perspective. 

Advertiser’s side

An advertiser wants to run an ad campaign to promote their mobile app. The agency (or the advertiser directly) uses a tool called a DSP (demand-side platform) to automate the process of buying ad space from publishers. A DSP allows advertisers to purchase ad inventory from multiple publishers. 

Publisher’s side

On the other side, publishers use an SSP (supply-side platform) to sell their ad space and manage their inventory. They often set price floors and other criteria, ensuring ad quality. When a target user opens an app, the SSP sends out an ad request to ad exchanges.

The connection

The DSP checks if this user matches the advertiser’s target. If yes, it bids to show the ad. This happens in real-time bidding auctions (under 100ms) conducted on the ad exchange, where multiple DSPs compete for the impression. 

The winning ad that matches the criteria and price, managed and delivered by an ad server, is then shown to the user. Throughout this process, privacy considerations and user consent ensure how data is collected and used for targeting. 

Other than open auctions, programmatic also includes private marketplaces (PMPs) with restricted access and Programmatic Direct for fixed-price deals.

How to Measure Programmatic Advertising KPIs?

Impressions: In programmatic app advertising, impressions are the total number of times an advertisement is served within the app. It helps measure the ad’s visibility and reach. 

Clicks: The number of times users click on your ad. It helps measure how effective and relevant your ad is to the target audience.

Click-Through Rate: CTR is the percentage of people who see your ad and then click on it. CTR is calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the number of impressions, and multiplying by 100.

Click-Through Conversions: CTC measures how many users click on an ad and convert (take a desired action) during the same visit. The CTC rate is calculated by dividing conversions by total clicks and multiplying by 100.

Conversions: Conversions for programmatic ads are when a user clicks an ad and completes a desired action within the app, like an install or in-app actions.

Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) CPA measures the cost of acquiring a customer through a campaign. It’s calculated by dividing the total campaign spend by the number of customers gained.

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) ROAS measures the revenue or conversions your in-app advertising generates for every dollar spent. It shows how profitable your ad campaigns are. It’s calculated by dividing the total revenue from ads by the ad spend. 

Cost Per Mille (CPM): CPM is the cost an advertiser pays for every one thousand ad impressions.  It’s calculated by (Total Ad Spend / Total Impressions) x 1000.

Viewability: Viewability rate is the percentage of your ad impressions that were seen by users. It’s calculated as viewable impressions divided by the total measurable impressions × 100. 

View-Through Conversions: VTC measures app installs that happen within a set time (like 1 day) after a user sees your ad but doesn’t click it. It measures whether seeing the ad led to an install later. If it does, the install counts as a conversion. 

Video Completion Rate (VCR): VCR is the percentage of users who watched your video ad to the end. It shows how engaging your video content is.       

Driving Real Results with ROAS for Programmatic Ads  

Beyond clicks and conversions, are your programmatic ad dollars truly driving revenue within your app ecosystem? ROAS offers a clear view of the profit generated per dollar spent on campaigns.

For example, you can measure the ROAS of a specific in-app video ad format or compare the ROAS across different programmatic ad networks used for app user acquisition.

How to calculate your ROAS (return on ad spend) for your campaign?

To calculate your ROAS for a campaign, use the following ROAS formula:

For instance, if you spend $ 1,000 on a programmatic in-app ad campaign and generate $ 3,000 in user spending within 30 days, your ROAS is 3:1, indicating a $ 3 return for every $ 1 spent on ads.

ROAS is the primary metric showing the revenue generated specifically from your programmatic ad investments. It helps justify ad spend adjustments and channel allocation. 

You can identify high-performing ad campaigns and set performance benchmarks for future programmatic efforts.

Track, analyze, grow: ROAS for programmatic ads.

App marketers and user acquisition (UA) managers can monitor Return On Ad Spend (ROAS) for groups of users acquired. 

You can observe the ROAS after 7 days, 14 days, or 30 days since a user installed the app.

For example, a cohort acquired through a particular in-app video ad might show a strong initial ROAS at Day 7 due to a limited-time offer, but then plateau. 

Conversely, a campaign focused on a specific group might initially show lower ROAS but generate sustained revenue over time.

By analysing how ROAS changes over these timeframes, you can see which programmatic ad campaigns deliver the most profitable users long-term. 

If a programmatic campaign shows a high ROAS consistently, advertisers can invest more in it to attract valuable users.

User LTV & Retention Metrics: How Ads Impact Long-term Engagement

A key measurement shift for mobile app advertisers is Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) and retention, directly linking ads to long-term business success.

Customer lifetime value (LTV) attribution: It connects programmatic campaigns to the total potential revenue from acquired users over time. LTV identifies campaigns attracting more loyal, higher-value users, even with similar initial conversion rates. Accurate LTV calculation needs strong user behavior and revenue tracking, often via MMPs.

Cohort analysis: Grouping users by acquisition campaign or time allows tracking their behavior and value growth over time. 

Cross-touchpoint engagement tracking: Understanding the full user journey means tracking engagement across all interactions. It reveals how programmatic mobile ads influence later in-app activities, loyalty participation, and offering a complete view of marketing impact.

Incrementality Testing: Proving the True Value of Ad Spend

Incrementality testing is a randomized experiment with two user groups: one sees your ad campaign (the treatment group), the other doesn’t (control group). Tests can focus on revenue, retention, or any app action that drives value for your business.  

Incrementality testing reveals the actual impact of your ads on conversions. It answers the questions: Would the users have converted organically anyway (without the campaign)? 

Alternatively, what additional value did the ad generate that wouldn’t have happened organically?

Programmatic Ad Impact: Measuring True Campaign Lift

In-app campaign lift:  Refers to the increase in a key metric (like engagement, in-app spending, or conversion frequency) achieved by a marketing campaign within an app. It is compared to a control group that didn’t receive the programmatic ad.

You can also check when more ad spending doesn’t lead to real results (installs, purchases) compared to what would happen naturally. It helps find the sweet spot for ad frequency and budget. 

Cross-channel incrementality: Tests that help advertisers understand if their programmatic ads are truly driving new results or simply shifting conversions that would have happened anyway from marketing channels (like social media or search).

It gives you a clearer picture of the real impact of your programmatic ad spend, enabling smarter budget allocation across all ad platforms for optimal results.

The New Standard for Programmatic Advertising Metrics

Programmatic advertising measurement is shifting from superficial, proxy metrics towards connecting campaign activities directly to key business outcomes. 

While CTR and CPM remain useful diagnostic metrics, the gold standard integrates: 

• Revenue-focused metrics (like ROAS) that show programmatic’s impact on profitability.
• Customer value measurements (like LTV and retention) that assess the long-term impact of advertising on users’ engagement and retention. 
• Incrementality testing that confirms the true value generated by programmatic ads. 

Advertisers who track these metrics and embrace sophisticated measurement frameworks outperform competitors and see better growth. To do this, you need in-depth data analysis on user behavior to ensure profitable campaigns and eliminate waste spending.     

Smarter Tracking & User Acquisition with adjoe Programmatic 

You’ve got the metrics that matter. Now, let’s ensure your programmatic advertising is on the mark! 

adjoe ads’ programmatic doesn’t just track, it actively optimizes. Advertisers get rich and transparent data for in-depth analysis, to understand precisely how campaigns impact their ROAS and LTV. 

Through intelligent bidding algorithms and predictive user modeling, adjoe ensures you reach high-value users without overspending.  And if you’re overwhelmed by the sea of data, don’t sweat it. Our clear dashboard distills everything you need to see your ROAS, LTV, and campaign testing, and reach your business goals. 

Launch, test, and optimize campaigns on the fly for higher conversions, and get adjoe experts to help you along the way.